Rio de Janeiro's samba schools vie for title

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) -- Rio de Janeiro's samba schools are vying for the title of the year's best in an over-the-top, all-night-long parade at the city's iconic Sambadrome.

The powerful percussion sections, larger-than-life floats and nearly nude samba dancers of six top-tier schools paraded Monday night. Six other schools, including reigning champion Unidos da Tijuca, paraded on Sunday. Results are announced later in the week.

The Sambadrome parades are the highlight of Rio's six-daylong Carnival extravaganza, which also includes hundreds of block parties which attract hundreds of thousands of costumed revelers.

Carnival wraps up on Ash Wednesday.

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